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AN IMPORTANT AND EARLY GRANITE FIGURE OF GANESHA, LATE CHOLA DYNASTY South India, Tamil Nadu, 11 th century. Expressively carved seated in rajalilasana atop a circular base, holding his broken tusk in his right hand and a bowl of sweets, from which he samples with his trunk, in his left. He is wearing a bejeweled necklace and a floral headdress. Provenance: From a French private collection. Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age and exactly as expected from such a massive granite statue with an age of over one thousand years. Old wear, significant weathering, minor structural cracks, signs of erosion, losses, and dark soil encrustations. Weight: 66.7 kg Dimensions: Height 57 cm Ganesha, the beloved elephant-headed god of prosperity and remover of obstacles, is worshipped throughout India at the beginning of journeys or undertaking of new endeavors. As such, he is often placed at thresholds or entries in private homes, and he is the first deity encountered even in massive, multi-sanctum temple complexes, where he is worshipped with offerings of sweets, fruits, coins, flowers, and freshly cut grass. He is a symbol of abundance, and he is also a paragon of wisdom, having broken off his own tusk and recorded the Mahabharata at the time of its recitation by the great sage Vyasa. Although he is the son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha is honored by all devotees and is the most popular god in modern India. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related but larger (86.4 cm high) granite figure of Ganesha, also dated to the late Chola dynasty, in the collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object number B63S45+. Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related but larger (97.7 cm high) late Chola granite figure of Ganesha, also dated to the 11 th century, at Christie’s New York in Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 17 September 1999, lot 35, sold for USD 101,500.